Senator RHIANNON (New South Wales) (17:44): The Water Amendment Bill is a sloppy piece of legislation. It is very confusing, and when you sit down and read it you really wonder what the purpose of it is. What is the intent? Clearly the government has an aim here. You start to wonder what the driver is. What is the political interest going on here? What was the intent of the Liberal and National Parties when they came up with this?

Senator RHIANNON (New South Wales) (21:06): How wonderful was the news that Rosie Batty was to be the Australian of the Year. It was a most important decision. The Baird Liberal government in New South Wales, however, is not doing enough to protect the women and children fleeing from domestic violence. When you look at what is happening in my home state you really wonder if they have listened to the Australian of the Year.

Commenting on Education Minister Christopher Pyne's comments that he will bring back his Bill to slash university funding and deregulate student fees in the spring sittings, Greens spokesperson for tertiary, technical and further education Senator Lee Rhiannon said: "If Minister Pyne is counting on being third time lucky, he has underestimated the resolve of the Australian people and the Senate to ensure that $100,000+ degrees does not become a reality.

With the Pacific Islands Forum leaders' summit on this week, the Australian Greens are urging the Abbott Government to finally show some regional leadership by acting on global warming and reinstating climate adaptation funding cut from aid.

US media reports that Australia may have broken Californian lobbying laws in an attempt to overturn the ban on kangaroo products highlights how far the Abbott government will go to benefit a handful of exporters, Greens spokesperson for animal welfare Senator Lee Rhiannon.

This story has broken in the US following a response from the Department of Agriculture to a question asked by Senator Rhiannon about lifting California's ban on imported kangaroo products.

Commenting on a new report that funding for VET across all levels of government dropped in 2013/14 by 7 per cent Greens spokesperson for tertiary, technical and further education Senator Lee Rhiannon said:

"Vocational Education Training is in trouble. State and federal governments urgently need to fix the structural causes.

"The COAG agreement on vocational education and training which allows hundreds of millions of public dollars flow to private, for-profit providers needs to be overhauled.